Ultraviolet -- 2006 -- PG-13

This was a film with a decent premise done in by a bad script. The effects were clever enough but a little on the low budget side. The fights were well-choreographed, but strangely, completely blood-free.

When I first read the synopsis of this movie, I blanched. The plot seemed similar to something I had written and that I'm rather proud of. However, a weak script, hole-ridden storyline, and general cheesy-ness have quelled my concerns about this little film usurping my eventual domination of the genre.

My major problem was a lot of stuff that just didn't make any sense. Apparently whatever is going on makes perfect sense to those on the inside, but to me, I got lost in the shuffle. They figure out this kid Violet is toting around is supposed to be able to kill off the Hemophages (the vampire type people). Well, the plot moves from this to weirder places and then off to somewhere where I got lost. Sheis supposed to have 36 hours to live, and not only does she survive longer than that, she survives beyond the death or something, and I don't know why. The kid dies, then lives. I don't know why. Violet cries tears which are suppose to mean something. I have no idea what they mean.

The fight sequences are overdone, and waaay overacted. They were mostly laughable.

The characters are cardboard cutouts there to jump through the hoops the plot provides. They have no apparent motivation. Whatever the point to this movie was, it got lost somewhere after, oh, it was conceived.

It is apparently based on a comic book character. Perhaps this is a case of fanboy mania where those who have read the comics understand the movie, and the rest of us...well, we're out of the loop.

Underworld Evolution -- 2006 -- R

From the opening of the film, I was a little concerned about how this woudl play out. It's a sequel to Underworld of 2003, and we started out with a huge prologue of exposition about some new characters and expanding the backstory considerably. Fortunately many of the elements of the ending of the first film carried over and it started to make a bit more sense. It used the first film as a stepping point and moved on from there, but still told a self-contained story.

The characters were decent for an action flick that borders on horror, though the sex bits seemed a bit gratutitious unless they can play into things later. This one follows our heroine Selene as she works to hide her Vampire-Lycan hybrid friend turned lover. More of the backstory comes to light as we are introduced to two brothers who are each the source of  the Vampires and Lycans. In a bit of nearly ridiculous sentimentality, in this film, the father cannot destroy the sons for their violations, nor can the sons destroy each other, even though it would be the right thing to do.

The meanings of certain objects came to light, however, and as the film unfolded, I became more and more interested in the storyline, which is a good thing. I'm a plot guy as a lot of people know, so a good, in-depth plot intrigues me to no end. This one has that sort of plot.

A weakness in this one that also prevailed in the first one is the heavy, heavy reliance on guns as a weapon, and the seemingly unending supply of ammo. No one ever ran out of bullets (unless there was a ready gun replacement nearby). The only time anyone ever fought without a gun was against the main baddie, and then it was rare. I think more could have been done with these species in their methods of fighting. Sure there was a limited use of knives (wait, knife) and some bomb action (when it served to further the plot only, not as a defense or offensive weapon), but for the most part, it was guns.

Another item in this film that really didn't happen in the first one was the supernatural healing ability they have. In the first film, a trainload of vampires was attacked and they were killed by scratches and general beatings. They did not heal. I this one, we had the main baddie slammed againt a rock wall on the side of a moving vehicle. He healed. We had the characters take some serious beatings in this one that they never took in the first one. They healed. I thought that might be a bit over the top. Maybe I missed it in the first one though.

I admit to being hooked during the action-intensive climax, so that apparently worked for me. In the end, I thought it was a good enough film with some good action and a very indepth  and thorough plot. In my first viewing of it, I really didn't catch any real holes. So in the end, I felt it was a good, solid film that begs to have more story told.

Rumor mill says there may be another. I just may watch it too.

Underworld -- 2003 -- R

Finally, after the hype of the new movie, I watched this one. Don't understand the hype.

It was primarily an action movie, and used all the conventions of the genre to a fault. This means that characters did things just to milk more action out of the plot. 

Character was built up just enough for motivations to make sense, but not enough to actually care about the character. The plot, I will grant, is clever as well as the premise. It is relatively free of holes through my first viewing of it, and unfolds very naturally at an even pace. Maybe they were afraid characterizing the characters would slow things down.

The lead, Selene, was being set upon by three werewolves. She blows two away, and rather than use a dozen bullets or so to knock out the third one, she chooses to use an unreal amount of ammo (more than these weapons could possibly hold) and shoot the floor surrounding her feet in order to fall through to the next lower level. In the time she took to do this, she could have killed the werewolf and be halfway down the the street in the stairwell. Also, in the time she took to do this, the werewolf would have killed her.

Near the end, for no apparent reason, Selene slipped off from the group. No reason was given for this. The others even called after her, but failed to follow her. I was like, what in the world?

Neither villain was defeated by our heroine. Instead we follow the Disney princess model of the man coming in at the end to fight the villain. Selene got the final strike, but she was out for most of that. 

And what was with calling the werewolves Lychens, anyway?

The film makes for a fun ride for a little while, but it has no staying power because it has no substance to it.

The Usual Suspects -- 1995 -- R

Ah, another one of our top 250 movies of all time finds its way to my player. This one is in the top 20 on that list, and it was definitely a great ride of a film.

The plot involves a guy who was on the dock when a ship exploded and who was part of a drug heist on this boat. He is taken into custody and given amnesty by the government, but one cop wants to know from this guy what really happened out there, and it all started back when a truck was jacked with weapons' parts and the cops rounded up this group who were apparently their usual suspects. While in their overnight incarceration, they decided to do another quick job for some quick cash and to make a point to the NYPD. After that, they do another and then a final one leading to the boat incident. Behind the final one is a mysterious crime lord that no one has ever seen...

This one unfolded little by little with reversals all over the place just making things more complicated. Any holes in the plot you think you spot are cleared up by the end in a masterful way.

The characters are pretty clever, though it is clear who the main characters of the five are since they are more clearly developed that the smaller roles. With only 5 characters, you would think they would have constructed everyone about the same (at least in the flashback). As is, the main two are memorable, while the other three are pretty interchangable.

This is a great flick with a twist at the end that makes the whole thing work so well. It's one of those twists that serves to tie it all together and make it a perfectly cohesive work. Good stuff.